Gloucester man killed; mother prays for the suspected drunk driver

A Gloucester mother says she has no animosity toward a woman that, state police say, was drunk when she hit and killed her son.

“I just wanna say to the driver, I’m sorry that it happened, and I’ll be praying for her. That’s the way my heart is and I’ll be praying for her,” says Claudina Wilson.

That’s how Wilson is grieving the loss of her son, 55-year-old Alvin Wilson.

State Police say it happened on Highway 17 near Hickory Fork Road at 6 Thursday morning.

Debora Auman

Investigators say Debora Auman of Gloucester struck and killed him with her SUV.

She’s charged with driving under the influence.

Claudina says, “It really is a shock to me. If he had been sick or something like that, I could understand it, but just for somebody to come out of the blue sky, then somebody come along with alcohol and just do things like that, I just don’t know what to say.”

His family says Alvin was an avid cook, loved to bake and spent his spare time fishing.

He was most recently a landscaper, but before that, he was in the Army.

“He was a character, ya know, he will be missed,” says Janelle Berry, Alvin’s niece.

So, as the family deals with the loss of Alvin, his mother is grieving in her own way.

“I pray for the driver, that’s right, I have no animosity inside of me for her because I know she needs help.”